Take 25: 25 Things To Do as a PTA Leader

This May 25, join PTAs across the country in observing National Missing Children’s Day, annually commemorated by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® to remind families and communities to make child safety a priority. Organize community events that address child safety issues, and encourage families to take 25 minutes to talk to their kids about how to stay safe.

PTA is proud to support the Take 25 campaign and National Missing Children’s Day as part of its century-long commitment to promoting the safety and welfare of our nation’s children.

Below are several ways your PTA can take May 25 to help kids stay safe.

Be sure to visit Take 25.org to register your events and to find related activities already planned in your community.

Talk to the school principal about decorating a hallway or other area of the school with a child safety theme.

Consider turning an existing school event, such as a carnival or field day, into a Take 25 event.

Issue a special edition of the PTA newsletter, or start a regular column, focusing on child safety.

Download and use the Take 25 materials created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children®, which include reproducible tip sheets, talking points, media tools, and Web banners.

Write a letter to or schedule a visit with decision makers and elected representatives to express your concerns about child safety issues.

Hold a student essay or art contest with school safety as the theme. Consider turning the winning pieces into a calendar that could be sold to raise money for future safety programs.

Talk to your local cable provider about placing an announcement or short video on its station to promote your Take 25 events or child safety in general.

Take steps toward establishing a schoolwide bullying prevention program, or evaluate your current program to see if improvements can be made. Visit the Stop Bullying Now website to learn about programs that have been successful at other schools or to share your own success story.

Talk to local merchants about placing fliers in their businesses to promote your Take 25 events or child safety in general.

Talk to the principal about sending home with every student a copy of “25 Things to Do as a Parent.”

Form a committee to explore the creation of a Safe Routes to School program for next school year.

Arrange to have CPR training at your school for interested parents or older students.

Work with your school librarian to create a list of books that can start discussions about child safety. Hold a reading night showcasing these titles.

Coordinate a student letter-writing campaign. Have students write letters to community leaders and elected representatives, expressing their safety concerns. Deliver these letters in person and encourage leaders to spend 25 minutes talking with their own children about how to stay safe.

Talk to the principal about allowing all teachers to spend 25 minutes of a school day talking with students about safety.

Look into enrolling your school in the Kidz-IDz School ID Card Program, through which students can receive plastic photo ID cards. Kidz-IDz is a National Member Benefits Provider of PTA; the School ID Card Program is free to PTA-affiliated schools.

Ask your mayor to issue a proclamation recognizing May 25 as National Missing Children’s Day.

Hold a candlelight vigil. Invite speakers with moving stories to tell (e.g., police officers, firefighters, parents), as well as the school choir.

Ask the local fire department to give tours of a fire engine and talk to students about fire safety.

Devote part of your May PTA meeting to sharing a NetSmartz® Internet Safety Presentation.

Work with the local American Red Cross chapter to hold a babysitting class at your middle or high school.

Talk to the principal and art teachers about sponsoring a student-created mural in or outside of the school that illustrates ways students can stay safe.

Work with community partners to plan a child safety fair. In addition, visit Take 25.org to post your events so other organizations can contact you about getting involved, or to find events in your community on which to partner.